This is your reminder that the citizens of Rome didn't want to do those jobs either, which led (during the empire) to the latifunda system, agricultural slavery, and was one of the drivers of late period imperial decline (it strengthened the economic m...
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This is your reminder that the citizens of Rome didn't want to do those jobs either, which led (during the empire) to the latifunda system, agricultural slavery, and was one of the drivers of late period imperial decline (it strengthened the economic might of large landowners, damaged social cohesion, etc).
Some really strong "speed running the fall of the Roman Empire" energy here.
https://mastodon.social/@FluentInFinance/115119737586041154 -
This is your reminder that the citizens of Rome didn't want to do those jobs either, which led (during the empire) to the latifunda system, agricultural slavery, and was one of the drivers of late period imperial decline (it strengthened the economic might of large landowners, damaged social cohesion, etc).
Some really strong "speed running the fall of the Roman Empire" energy here.
https://mastodon.social/@FluentInFinance/115119737586041154@cstross there's this pattern across history in agriculture; you can get a reliable food supply from latifunda (large areas of land worked by slaves) or by prosperous freehold farmers.
The systems do not mix and latifunda drive out freeholds because they've got more ability to absorb surprise. (the Yard Sale Model in real life!)
Americans will do the non-slavery jobs involved in the freehold version. To get that involves destroying the latifunda. (And the monopsonist food processors.)
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@cstross there's this pattern across history in agriculture; you can get a reliable food supply from latifunda (large areas of land worked by slaves) or by prosperous freehold farmers.
The systems do not mix and latifunda drive out freeholds because they've got more ability to absorb surprise. (the Yard Sale Model in real life!)
Americans will do the non-slavery jobs involved in the freehold version. To get that involves destroying the latifunda. (And the monopsonist food processors.)
Fun fact: One of the major reasons serfdom was abolished in Germany was that noble landowners (such as Hans zu Rantzau) discovered that it was more profitable to rent out land to tenant farmers instead of having it worked by serfs, since the tenant farmers were more motivated to work to increase their harvests - while the serfs knew that all excess revenue would benefit their lords instead of them.
